Re: bjam rationale...

From: Wieger Wesselink (wieger_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-12-16 06:12:00

--- In jamboost_at_[hidden], Tompa <tompa1969_at_y...> wrote:
> Excuse me for my ignorance, but I guess I still have not managed to 
figure out
> what makes bjam a so much better choice over GNU make.
> 
> /Tompa

I can give you some reasons why I prefer bjam over makefiles. May
be that helps?

*) You need to specify the project settings once, and it works for
all major operating systems and compilers. With makefiles this degree
of portability is simply not available.

*) The build files have a very clean syntax. You can simply
express your target in terms of static/shared, optimization on/off
debug/release etc. and don't need to know anything about compiler 
flags
for specific compilers. The average bjam file only contains essential
information about the project, and is therefore very concise and
readible.

*) Creating libraries is normally a complex task, especially if you
need different versions (shared/static, single/multi threaded). With
bjam this is extremely easy! Using libraries is even more easy, since
the usage-requirements are specified with the library itself.